A Study On The Export Strategy Of China's Refractories

Refractories are kinds of non-organic and non-metal material for thermal and chemical processing and manufacturing equipment. Refractories are so important that the development of high temperature industry is impossible without the support of refractories industry.China has most favorable endowments to develop refractories industry and export with her rich natural refractory resources, such as magnesite, bauxite, and graphite and low cost labor resources as well. China also have big market for refractories, a long history of production, and relatively advanced technological processes, all of which have bought Chinese refractory manufacturers good opportunity to build up their product reputation at home and enter international market in future. Through many years' efforts by the government and enterprises, China's refractories industry has developed steadily and achieved rapid technological advancement. China now is one of the largest countries for refractory export in the world.However, China's refractories industry faces many problems at present. First, the overcapacity in refractories production is the toughest headache for many producers. The industry performance has been declining year on year, and product prices remain at a low level. Second, the industrial structure is irrational, with small-sized enterprises large in number, low in productivity, and narrow in product mix. Third, the product structure is single and simple. Most products are generic with low quality, short durability and high energy consumption. Fourth, China mainly exports the resource-intensive products at much lower price. The export product mix and pricing mechanism is in chaos and there is lack of macro policy and proper strategic solutions to those problems. Given the above severe situations, this thesis aims to discuss the possibilities for rationalizing of China refractories industry; the alternatives for export strategies and approaches to the improvement of refractories productionand profitability. Through the review of the development of China refractories industry and the analysis on the internal and external environments of the industry, this thesis attempts to put forward some suggestions feasible or helpful for China refractories industry. It is believed that the restructuring of China refractories industry should be well grounded and comprehensive, including efforts from national, industrial, and enterprise parts.This thesis is divided into six chapters. Chapter one introduces some background knowledge on refractories and points out the research approach involved. Chapter two focuses on the evaluation and current situation of China refractories industry, revealing the biggest problems existed in the industry. Chapter three analyzes the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of China refractories' export using SWOT model. Chapter Four proposes the strategies and measures that Puyang Refractories Co., Ltd adopted to increase their export. On the basis of the discussion of previous chapters, Chapter Five takes some visionary thinking and predicting the future of China's refractories export, which is a more significant part of this thesis. Finally, the thesis points out that Chinese government, refractory trade association and enterprises should cooperate to solve the existing problems and enhance the core competitiveness of Chinese refractories industry so that the quality and profitability of China's refractories export can be improved.